TV-Series
Description
Fuu Houhou, also known as Feng Baobao, is a central figure whose mysterious past and immense power drive much of the narrative. Her most defining characteristic is her apparent immortality or agelessness, having maintained a youthful appearance since she was first documented in 1944 during the Kōshin War, suggesting she may have lived for over a century without physical change. Her origins are shrouded in mystery due to severe amnesia; she recalls only her name and possesses no memories of her family or life before a certain point.
Her known history begins in 1944, when she was discovered as a mute, injured wanderer in the mountains of wartime China. Two local men who found her attempted to assault her but were frightened away by a farming couple who then took her in. This couple, whom she came to call Auntie and Uncle, gave her the name Amu and raised her alongside their young son, Jo Shou, also known as Pup. During this time, a local doctor recognized her unique meditation techniques, which she used to control severe headaches, as an ability called goshinchōten, and warned her adoptive parents that she might be an ijin, or Outsider.
This peaceful period ended tragically when bandits attacked the village and killed her adoptive father. In response to his death, Houhou unleashed lethal vengeance upon the attackers, slaughtering them with emotionless brutality. This act, while requested by her dying father, terrified the other villagers, who exiled her due to fears of her unnatural power and lack of visible emotion. She became separated from her adoptive family, wandering for decades until her adoptive brother Jo Shou, with the help of an organization called the Express Delivery Company, eventually found her again.
Fuu Houhou is marked by a profound emotional detachment and a stunted understanding of social conventions, often speaking in a flat, monotone voice that can unnerve those around her. This isolation is rooted in her fractured identity and forgotten past. However, fleeting cracks in her stoicism occasionally reveal dormant humanity, such as flashes of fury when denied the truth about important matters. Her bond with the protagonist, Chou Soran, evolves from a transactional duty into a complex alliance, with unacknowledged romantic undercurrents and moments of dry wit.
Her role in the story is defined by a promise made to Chou Shakurin, the grandfather of Chou Soran. Shakurin, dying from a fatal wound, recognized Houhou and asked her to deliver the finishing blow, making her promise to look after his grandson. Houhou fulfilled this promise by first observing Soran from the shadows and then actively entering his life as a protector and guide. This duty leads her to enter the Raten Taishō tournament, where her objectives are to shield Soran from those targeting his martial heritage and to reclaim fragments of her own erased past.
As a combatant, Fuu Houhou possesses lethal precision and is virtually unbeaten in recorded battles, despite having no formal training. Her abilities stem from the manipulation of her own Qi, which has a unique "colorless" quality that allows her to vanish from perception, heighten her reflexes, and deflect energy-based attacks. Her fighting style is ruthlessly adaptive and unconventional, often using everyday objects like her high heels as weapons or dislocating her own joints to escape restraints. Perhaps her most formidable power is accelerated healing, enabling her to survive wounds that would be fatal to others, such as being stabbed in the back through vital organs. Fragmented flashbacks hint at her past captivity, including being held in shackles under unclear circumstances. Her true nature is further explored in the tournament, where an opponent reveals that her spirit and soul are disconnected, suggesting her enduring existence may be the result of unnatural experimentation rather than simple Qi mastery.
Her known history begins in 1944, when she was discovered as a mute, injured wanderer in the mountains of wartime China. Two local men who found her attempted to assault her but were frightened away by a farming couple who then took her in. This couple, whom she came to call Auntie and Uncle, gave her the name Amu and raised her alongside their young son, Jo Shou, also known as Pup. During this time, a local doctor recognized her unique meditation techniques, which she used to control severe headaches, as an ability called goshinchōten, and warned her adoptive parents that she might be an ijin, or Outsider.
This peaceful period ended tragically when bandits attacked the village and killed her adoptive father. In response to his death, Houhou unleashed lethal vengeance upon the attackers, slaughtering them with emotionless brutality. This act, while requested by her dying father, terrified the other villagers, who exiled her due to fears of her unnatural power and lack of visible emotion. She became separated from her adoptive family, wandering for decades until her adoptive brother Jo Shou, with the help of an organization called the Express Delivery Company, eventually found her again.
Fuu Houhou is marked by a profound emotional detachment and a stunted understanding of social conventions, often speaking in a flat, monotone voice that can unnerve those around her. This isolation is rooted in her fractured identity and forgotten past. However, fleeting cracks in her stoicism occasionally reveal dormant humanity, such as flashes of fury when denied the truth about important matters. Her bond with the protagonist, Chou Soran, evolves from a transactional duty into a complex alliance, with unacknowledged romantic undercurrents and moments of dry wit.
Her role in the story is defined by a promise made to Chou Shakurin, the grandfather of Chou Soran. Shakurin, dying from a fatal wound, recognized Houhou and asked her to deliver the finishing blow, making her promise to look after his grandson. Houhou fulfilled this promise by first observing Soran from the shadows and then actively entering his life as a protector and guide. This duty leads her to enter the Raten Taishō tournament, where her objectives are to shield Soran from those targeting his martial heritage and to reclaim fragments of her own erased past.
As a combatant, Fuu Houhou possesses lethal precision and is virtually unbeaten in recorded battles, despite having no formal training. Her abilities stem from the manipulation of her own Qi, which has a unique "colorless" quality that allows her to vanish from perception, heighten her reflexes, and deflect energy-based attacks. Her fighting style is ruthlessly adaptive and unconventional, often using everyday objects like her high heels as weapons or dislocating her own joints to escape restraints. Perhaps her most formidable power is accelerated healing, enabling her to survive wounds that would be fatal to others, such as being stabbed in the back through vital organs. Fragmented flashbacks hint at her past captivity, including being held in shackles under unclear circumstances. Her true nature is further explored in the tournament, where an opponent reveals that her spirit and soul are disconnected, suggesting her enduring existence may be the result of unnatural experimentation rather than simple Qi mastery.